


A New Charge

by MyGhostJustYells



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Poor Isono knows nothing about card games, Start of loyalty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-26 23:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30113475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyGhostJustYells/pseuds/MyGhostJustYells
Summary: A portrait of Isono's early days in Kaiba's employ.
Kudos: 6





	A New Charge

**Author's Note:**

> Title: A New Charge  
> Author: MyGhostJustYells  
> Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh!: Duel Monsters  
> Rating: T  
> Warning(s): Implied/referenced child abuse that is canonically part of Seto Kaiba's backstory.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. They belong to Kazuki Takahashi, Studio Gallop, TV Tokyo, and other licensors and distributors. This is a not-for-profit fan work.
> 
> Author's Note: The seed for this fic came from the observation that Isono does not appear in Kaiba's employ prior to Battle City. Just a short little thing. Hope you enjoy!

With excruciatingly slow speed, Isono poured over the rulebook his new employer insisted he memorize cover to cover. It wasn’t even the official booklets that Industrial Illusions printed to include in the decks and sets they sold – it had clearly been meticulously put together by Seto Kaiba himself, typed up in detail and even embellished with pictures and diagrams. Isono wondered if his employer planned to issue these to every participant in his new tournament.

The resource was greatly appreciated, as Isono was… quite new to the TCG scene and the detailed breakdown of the various phases of each player’s turn, the field positions, the sacrifice summon rules, which Isono understood to be recent additions... was a lot to take in.

With a sigh, he leaned back in his chair as the information started to lose him. This was hands down the strangest assignment he had been given in the entirety of his professional career: being the referee at his employer’s upcoming card game tournament.

It had all happened so quickly too. When the interview request had come through, especially with that salary, Isono had been interested, though honestly not expecting to ultimately get the job. It hadn’t been until the second interview, as high-profile clients in the market for a professional bodyguard valued their privacy and often didn’t reveal their identities until fairly late in the process, that it had become clear the wealthy client was the young CEO of KaibaCorp himself.

Isono still wasn’t certain why he’d gotten the job, and maybe would never be completely sure. He didn’t have a proven track record with kids, knew nothing about gaming, and was only tech savvy enough to function well in modern society. But he was a consummate professional, and given how highly Seto Kaiba seemed to value the ability to trust his employees, Isono figured there was something about himself that had resonated with his new employer.

Kaiba hadn’t been wrong. Isono prided himself on his professionalism, and wasn’t about to ruin his career by being unfaithful or doing a poor job. He would give this assignment, like all the others, his all.

But Kaiba could be… difficult, and Isono was already starting to wonder just how long he would remain in this job, either before Kaiba saw fit to fire him or if something upset him enough that he quit on his own accord. Already tempers had frayed on three distinct occasions: when a deadline was fast approaching, an overenthusiastic fan had attempted to jump Kaiba at an event, and there had been a rather significant misunderstanding resulting in a delivery delay of some key materials for upcoming KaibaCorp projects. And Isono had only been working for Kaiba for three weeks.

It wasn’t as though he disliked his new boss. Far from it. But there was certainly a lack of closeness to the relationship, and that was always a hurdle when one’s job was personal aide and protector. And one thing about Seto Kaiba was clear: he was not the type to get close to anyone.

Noticing what time the clock on the wall read, Isono quickly bookmarked where he was in the manual and sighed deeply, trying to gather the energy to stand. He was stiff after sitting in this chair for the past few hours, even though it was a highly comfortable, richly upholstered chair. He could only guess how much it had cost.

Night had fallen; Isono had needed to turn on the nearby lamp in order to make out the words on the page nearly an hour ago. His ability to read in dim light wasn’t as good as it used to be – he supposed he was getting older. The thought made him feel sad for a brief moment. When his physical capabilities were stolen from him by age or injury, rendering him unable to practice his occupation in a future that seemed less distant with every passing year… he wouldn’t have the slightest idea what to do with himself.

With a deep sigh, he removed his face from his hands. Rolling his head from side to side to loosen his neck muscles, as well as the ones in his shoulders, he finally convinced himself to get up. Closing the door to the library quietly behind him, he headed for Kaiba’s office to make his nightly report.

It didn’t take him long to get there. When he arrived, the door was closed, as Isono had come to expect. Seto Kaiba did not like unexpected interruptions when he was working, which was nearly all of the time.

He knocked, gently, as he had learned to do, but, strangely, there was no response. He tried again, still nothing. Next he announced his presence, only to be met with silence.

Concern now replacing mild annoyance, Isono stared at the door handle, wondering what he should do. Biting his lower lip in anticipation after only a moment of deliberation, he finally gripped the door handle tightly and pulled it open.

To his immense relief, there did not appear to be anything amiss. Kaiba was simply slumped over his desk, apparently fast asleep. The slow rise and fall of young Kaiba’s shoulders confirmed Isono’s suspicions – for once, the boy actually looked at peace. Isono knew the youth had been working non-stop on his upcoming tournament, so finally falling asleep as the hour grew later was hardly unexpected.

Debating internally for just a moment over what to do, Isono decided to take his leave. Today hadn’t been that eventful – he could just type up a quick report and e-mail it for Kaiba to see first thing in the morning.

But as Isono moved away, Kaiba stirred, his elbow bumping against a stack of books that sat beside him on the desk. Already structurally unsound, the disturbance was more than enough to send the entire pile toppling over in a thump.

At this, Seto’s eyes shot open and he jolted upright. Isono himself jumped at the sudden and intense reaction.

The guilt settled in Isono’s heart immediately. It was silly, he knew, that such a small thing felt like a grievous failure to protect his charge, but it did.

The fear in the teenager’s eyes in that split second was instinctive. Ingrained.

Isono figured it out then and there. Well, at least he had a very good guess.

“Um, my apologies, Mr. Kaiba. I was just going to give my report for the night and head home. Is there anything else I can do for you this evening?” Isono said, still flustered from the incident but recovering quickly.

“No. Just, know the rules of Duel Monsters and work on your vocal endurance. Come to me with any questions,” Kaiba snapped, though gradually his breathing rate was slowing to normal and the tension visibly eased from his muscles.

Isono nodded, a little shaken and glad of the permission to take his leave. “In that case, good night, sir.” He exited the office, eager to get home.

Still, he knew that he would never be able to unsee that terrified expression on his new charge’s face, brief as it may have been.


End file.
